Watchword 2017: Opportunity
Opportunity (n): a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something.
This year has flown by! I guess it is true that the older you get, the faster times seems to go. I can honestly say that 2017 has been the best year I’ve had. If I could review this entire year of my life, it might turn out to be more of a book than a blog post. I could focus on many things that happened in my life like graduating college, connecting with numerous people in my possible career field, starting school at UAB, meeting Dale Earnhardt Jr., or my many adventures.
When I first started attending Gardendale on a weekly basis, one of the first sermons Pastor Kevin preached on was on a watch word. A watch word is a word that God gives you and uses it to grow you throughout the year. I deeply felt the word “opportunity” whispered into my soul. My final post of this year will focus on 3 opportunities that occurred in my life that I didn’t see coming.
1) God Gave Me the Opportunity to Get Connected to a College Bible Study Group
It was February and I was in a valley in my life. My worldly goals and strive for perfection had eaten me up. I was burned out. Ever since I started college in 2015 I had prayed for God to provide a place where I could study His Word with His believers who also happen to be my age. Let’s face it…there are more college students that don’t want anything to do with God than students who do. I love Blount County, but let’s give this a thought. How many people from Blount County, comprised of small towns, stay in Blount County after graduating high school? Not many. Some go to work, some go to universities far away. It’s hard to have a strong college-aged Bible study group in Blount County. Almost in the blink of an eye, my life changed. I felt God call me to GFBC. To do so, I would have to leave my precious Cleveland First Baptist community. I knew NO ONE at GFBC!! God put in special circumstances that I knew were of His doing. The first time I decided to go to the college group at GFBC, it happened to be a discipleship now weekend. Basically, only a handful of college students were there because most were helping to teach the high school students. That allowed me to really connect with the college pastor. I immediately knew that God was leading me here for a purpose, to get closer to Him. Since being apart of SUB25, I have been challenged to read my Bible daily, share Jesus with others, and live for Him in everything I do. God opened this opportunity because He knew my life was going down the tubes. I’ve re-learned to give Him complete control of everything, and He will give me opportunities I never saw coming, which leads to opportunity number 2.
2) God Gave Me the Opportunity to be a Kid Again
After being involved in SUB25 for a few months, VBS was coming up. I knew I wanted to volunteer, but didn’t know who or how to ask. An email popped up one afternoon in May, asking for volunteers. I quickly responded. I love how God timing works. Within two hours of responding “yes” to the email for GFBC, I had also been asked to help out during VBS at CFBC. VBS was awesome as always and left me wanting to help more. In late-July, God opened an opportunity. I was asked to teach on a Wednesday night in Kidz Kingdom. Me? Teach? I was honored but also nervous. Apparently I did well because I was then asked if I would be interested in helping on Sundays in Kidz Kingdom. I absolutely love being in Kidz Kingdom on Sunday mornings! It’s like VBS, except on a Sunday. I get to jump around, do the songs with motions, and to help the kids grow in their relationship with Christ. If any of you know me personally, you know I have lots of energy. I love the Sundays where I get to go to “big” church and then go and worship Jesus in Kidz Kingdom. If you would have told me in January that I would be a worship leader in Kidz Kingdom, I wouldn’t have believed you. I’m so thankful God gave me this opportunity in 2017!
3) God Gave Me the Opportunity to Use My Gifts for His Glory
At the beginning of 2017, I was known as the guy behind the scenes. I volunteered in the media ministry at Cleveland First Baptist for seven years. I knew I wanted to serve at GFBC in as many ways possible, but didn’t know how I could use my media gifts. One of the children’s ministers at GFBC asked me, “If you could do anything church related and it not be kids ministry, what would that be?” I immediately said missions. Missions has always been a favorite VBS rotation of mine. It was so cool to learn about people that go all over the world telling others about Jesus. God put an idea in my head to do video stories on people who went on mission trips. Missionz With Noe started as a segment I do in Kidz Worship, but now is also my platform to share the stories of missionaries to the world. I have found so much encouragement from doing interviews with people. As you know, 2018 is the year God has called me to take His Word internationally. I never complained to God about my equipment I used to produce the videos. I filmed with an old iPhone, a computer for clear audio, and a backpack and selfie stick to use as a tripod. God has blessed me with a part-time job to be able to buy a quality camera and real video equipment. In the upcoming year, look for better quality videos. I look forward to continuing to share missions stories using my God-given talents. Again, if you had told me in January that I would be making videos that glorify God, I would have been skeptical.
God’s timing is always right. He knew that I would be typing this, reflecting on all the good things He has done in 2017. He opens doors and opportunities that no one else can open. I have seen God bring my 2017 watch word to fruition. He did way more than I ever expected! 2017 was full of highs and lows, knowns and unknowns, times of joy and sorrow. Through it all, He’s been right there, at my side. I know He’ll continue to do the same in 2018. I’m looking forward to what watch word He gives me in 2018. I would like to wish all of you a Happy New Year. Let’s make it a goal to share Jesus, in every aspect of our lives, to everyone we encounter.
This year has flown by! I guess it is true that the older you get, the faster times seems to go. I can honestly say that 2017 has been the best year I’ve had. If I could review this entire year of my life, it might turn out to be more of a book than a blog post. I could focus on many things that happened in my life like graduating college, connecting with numerous people in my possible career field, starting school at UAB, meeting Dale Earnhardt Jr., or my many adventures.
When I first started attending Gardendale on a weekly basis, one of the first sermons Pastor Kevin preached on was on a watch word. A watch word is a word that God gives you and uses it to grow you throughout the year. I deeply felt the word “opportunity” whispered into my soul. My final post of this year will focus on 3 opportunities that occurred in my life that I didn’t see coming.
1) God Gave Me the Opportunity to Get Connected to a College Bible Study Group
It was February and I was in a valley in my life. My worldly goals and strive for perfection had eaten me up. I was burned out. Ever since I started college in 2015 I had prayed for God to provide a place where I could study His Word with His believers who also happen to be my age. Let’s face it…there are more college students that don’t want anything to do with God than students who do. I love Blount County, but let’s give this a thought. How many people from Blount County, comprised of small towns, stay in Blount County after graduating high school? Not many. Some go to work, some go to universities far away. It’s hard to have a strong college-aged Bible study group in Blount County. Almost in the blink of an eye, my life changed. I felt God call me to GFBC. To do so, I would have to leave my precious Cleveland First Baptist community. I knew NO ONE at GFBC!! God put in special circumstances that I knew were of His doing. The first time I decided to go to the college group at GFBC, it happened to be a discipleship now weekend. Basically, only a handful of college students were there because most were helping to teach the high school students. That allowed me to really connect with the college pastor. I immediately knew that God was leading me here for a purpose, to get closer to Him. Since being apart of SUB25, I have been challenged to read my Bible daily, share Jesus with others, and live for Him in everything I do. God opened this opportunity because He knew my life was going down the tubes. I’ve re-learned to give Him complete control of everything, and He will give me opportunities I never saw coming, which leads to opportunity number 2.
After being involved in SUB25 for a few months, VBS was coming up. I knew I wanted to volunteer, but didn’t know who or how to ask. An email popped up one afternoon in May, asking for volunteers. I quickly responded. I love how God timing works. Within two hours of responding “yes” to the email for GFBC, I had also been asked to help out during VBS at CFBC. VBS was awesome as always and left me wanting to help more. In late-July, God opened an opportunity. I was asked to teach on a Wednesday night in Kidz Kingdom. Me? Teach? I was honored but also nervous. Apparently I did well because I was then asked if I would be interested in helping on Sundays in Kidz Kingdom. I absolutely love being in Kidz Kingdom on Sunday mornings! It’s like VBS, except on a Sunday. I get to jump around, do the songs with motions, and to help the kids grow in their relationship with Christ. If any of you know me personally, you know I have lots of energy. I love the Sundays where I get to go to “big” church and then go and worship Jesus in Kidz Kingdom. If you would have told me in January that I would be a worship leader in Kidz Kingdom, I wouldn’t have believed you. I’m so thankful God gave me this opportunity in 2017!
At the beginning of 2017, I was known as the guy behind the scenes. I volunteered in the media ministry at Cleveland First Baptist for seven years. I knew I wanted to serve at GFBC in as many ways possible, but didn’t know how I could use my media gifts. One of the children’s ministers at GFBC asked me, “If you could do anything church related and it not be kids ministry, what would that be?” I immediately said missions. Missions has always been a favorite VBS rotation of mine. It was so cool to learn about people that go all over the world telling others about Jesus. God put an idea in my head to do video stories on people who went on mission trips. Missionz With Noe started as a segment I do in Kidz Worship, but now is also my platform to share the stories of missionaries to the world. I have found so much encouragement from doing interviews with people. As you know, 2018 is the year God has called me to take His Word internationally. I never complained to God about my equipment I used to produce the videos. I filmed with an old iPhone, a computer for clear audio, and a backpack and selfie stick to use as a tripod. God has blessed me with a part-time job to be able to buy a quality camera and real video equipment. In the upcoming year, look for better quality videos. I look forward to continuing to share missions stories using my God-given talents. Again, if you had told me in January that I would be making videos that glorify God, I would have been skeptical.
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